Hello 2016!

January 4, 2016

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a great start to this new year!! This week has been pretty good. We started it off with a super chill p-day. I seriously don't know how it was so relaxing and we still had time to do everything! Normally p-days are the busiest and sometimes most stressful days, but somehow this one was great! I think I finally have this p-day thing down...that only took me about 10.5 months. Sad.....anyways. Then we had a lesson with the Bubar's. We taught them the plan of salvation, and sister Bubar (the LA) remembered most of it, which was exciting! Brother Bubar didn't know it, but he was very interested in it. We're going to invite him to be baptized tonight, hopefully that goes well! We're not totally positive on what his true intentions are with us teaching him, So hopefully tonight will be a positive experience!

On Tuesday. It snowed!! Woo hoo! That was something exciting to wake up to, but it wasn't very magical--like it is when it snows before Christmas--It was just like, "oh, there's cold, wet, white stuff on the ground. Fun!...not really now I have to shovel." Haha okay, I have a much better attitude then it may seem, promise! I've actually been
looking forward to the snow so we can shovel! It's pretty great.  We even shoveled a lady's driveway the following day, and she was surprised with how much we love to work! (I think the previous sisters have helped her out before or have asked her if they could serve her in any way for her to respond like that. But I didn't mind! We just said, ” yes! We love doing work!" And pulled out our shovels from the car. So great!).

The snow is pretty fun, but it also makes for interesting driving situations. On Tuesday when it snowed, It really tested my driving abilities. But, I'd like to inform you that I have discovered I have some mad Indiana Jones driving skills!! :) if you have ever been on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, or Disney World, you'll know what I'm talking about. We were out contacting potential investigators in Woolwich, and our GPS led us down this sketchy road that wasn't plowed very well and was pretty narrow. By the time we got further down the road, it was no longer plowed, there were animal footprints, and there was a fence blocking the way saying "private property". That
was pretty sketchy. The snow was at least 2 feet deep, and I had to turn around quickly, or else we would have gotten stuck. I didn't even let sister black get out to reverse me because I didn't want to get stuck anymore than we were already getting. After I turned around, that's when my Indiana Jones skills kicked it, and I felt like I was on that ride. The road was super bumpy, we were fish-tailing, and the steering wheel was super loose, almost to the point that it felt like it wasn't attached to the car. Pretty crazy, but it was so much fun!! I was so impressed with myself that I could drive out of there safely, and that we didn't get stuck! That was the second time that night where we almost got stuck. We visited another potential, and they have a super steep driveway. I took us 5 tries to get out of the driveway....but we got out! Oh boy, we've had some pretty exciting adventures so far!

We've been trying to contact a lot of our potential investigators this week, and we've met some pretty interesting people. There was one couple who we met who were super  friendly and were apparently 3 days away from being baptized! We asked why they didn't get baptized, and it was seriously the most ridiculous response, and it barely made sense. Apparently people didn't show up to a single adult activity, and his response was "where were the other 9?" (referring to the 10 lepers Christ healed). That was his response. Literally. I'm still really confused....but, that whole experience really upset sister black. He was so close to being baptized and now he's so set on his "new path" that there is no way he will change. She is discovering more and more that people have their agency and they don't always use it the way we, as missionaries, would hope.

We also met other people who made missionary work a little more exciting. One man said he believes Star Wars and religion are in the same realm, and that positivity is his religion, and there was another man who claims he has a masters degree in Aerospace engineering and proceeded to tell us how the moon is populated and how he knows that because he saw it on YouTube. .........very interesting. But pretty funny when you look back at it! Missions are the best! You learn so much, and the experiences you have are so unexpected! So great! :)

Sorry this is a longer email, and that there aren't any pictures, but hopefully you enjoyed the stories I shared! :) I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Keep P.U.S.H.ing! (Pray until something happens)
Sister Pierce

The Book of Mormon is so cool!

December 28, 2015

Hello everyone!! Merry Christmas and happy New Year!! I hope you all had a great holiday and that is next year is a great one!! To start off, I'm not getting transferred, neither is Sister Black! I'm pretty excited because there is a lot happening this next transfer. There is so much potential in this area, and I can't wait to get started! We have a few new investigators we're going to start teaching next week, and we're planning on having a baptism this transfer with our investigator, April Lynn. Also, our investigator Brother Bubar asked us to begin teaching his family from the Book of Mormon. He wants to understand it better, and what better way then to have the missionaries teach from it? He asked us to leave a chapter with them each week in prep for the following lesson. So, tonight we're teaching them the plan of salvation from 2 Nephi 2. During comp study this morning, sister black and I studied it and I discovered how amazing the Book of Mormon is! I already knew that, but it's even cooler when you're reading it to learn about something specific. We took the chapter verse by verse, and it was amazing to see how the plan of salvation is taught throughout the entire thing! (Well everything, except for the spirit world and the kingdoms, but that's still pretty sweet!). The Book of Mormon is so true. I was also reading in Helaman this morning and the spirit was so strong when I was reading about a prophesy Nephi has about who killed the chief judge. It was amazing! I've never felt the spirit that strong about a prophesy made by a Book of Mormon prophet. Boy, missions really teach you about the spirit, the gospel, and yourself!mi a, so grateful to be serving a mission. I can't believe that I've already been out for 10 months. Crazy! I hope these next 8 months don't go by too quickly! There's still so much for me to do, I can't wait! :)

I love you all!
Keep PUSHing!
Sister Pierce

Our district on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve with the Atwater's

Our tree and presents!

I think the Ward loves us too much...we're a little sugared out...

Merry Christmas!!

December 21, 2015

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all excited for this holiday!
I know I am! As this month began, I was a little homesick and not very
excited for this holiday, even though everyone says Christmas is the
best as a missionary. I didn't believe them. However, I now
understand!!! Christmas is so amazing as a missionary! On Thursday we
had a zone conference as well as a talent show for the missionaries
serving in Maine. Oh man. I think the talent show is what made
Christmas become real for me. Music always makes a connection with me,
and when it's songs about our savior, and Mary, it just hits home!
Sister black, elder Skouby, and I even were a part of the talent
show.  We sang "how great thou art" acapella in parts (I sang alto).
We were the only ones who sang a song acapella, so it was pretty neat.

This week, we were able to do some service for others and make little
treats (pretzel sticks with white chocolate) for our neighbors. We
helped a lady in our Ward with some sewing projects she had, and since
sister black is a pro seamstress, we were able to help. I was also
able to help by being a pro ironer! :) she was so appreciative and
almost cried because we offered to help! Then, we helped the Youland's
with their Christmas lights. We have lunch with them every week, and
they are the ones who took to see the ship set sail! We've gotten to
now them pretty well, so it was fun to help them with some Christmas
decorating. I just love how festive everyone is and how this season
makes everyone "holly jolly!" :) I also am so appreciative that I have
come to learn the true meaning of Christmas. I always knew why we
celebrated Christmas, but it never really sunk in until this Thursday
and when we started doing so much selfless service for
others--especially being able to help others to relieve some stress.
Oh! Also, we read the nativity story to a family in our Ward as they
acted it out! That was pretty fun! I love the spirit that kids have
with Christmas!

Also, on Tuesday, we found a new investigator! Her name is Chrissy.
She met with missionaries in Maryland for a while, but then moved out
here, and the sisters tracted into her, and have been trying to see
her ever since. We finally saw her on Tuesday, and boy! She is so
prepared!! We literally taught just about everything to her (word of
wisdom, church, priesthood, law of chastity, baptism, restoration,
etc). She already has a testimony of prophets and apostles because
Christ had that while he was on the earth, so why would it be
different? Also, she said she would have a hard time quitting smoking
and tea, but said she was going to switch over to Pepsi right then! Oh
man! Her 7 year old daughter has definitely played a role in her being
prepared, though. Chrissy said that she has been asking her why they
don't go to church and Chrissy says that they haven't found a right
church yet. Well, I'm happy to tell you that she has found that right
church now, and that she is willing and excited to give it a try!!!
Woo!

Our other investigator, April, also told sister Richardson (the member
who she lives with) that she wants to be baptized and is ready to make
commitments! Woo hoo! We haven't even been able to start officially
teaching her yet, and she already wants to be baptized! Sweet! We also
found an older lady while trying to contact a potential investigator,
and we have a return appointment with her for January 7th! Boy, oh
boy, the work is just moving right along here in Topsham! I'm pretty
stoked!

Well, I think that's about it. I hope you all have a very merry
Christmas! Love you all!

Keep PUSHIng!
Sister Pierce

The nativity with the Norton kids

I saw Sister Craig at Zone Conference!

Hello from Maine!

December 14, 2015

Hello all! I hope you are all doing well and that you are enjoying
this holiday season!!

So this week, we got a new investigator! It's a part member family,
and I guess they haven't been that interested in the church before but
we're making progress with them! Brother Bubar is the investigator and
he seems sincerely interested in learning more and with reading the
Book of Mormon. He even asked if there was a study group that he could
be a part of so he could understand the book better. That was pretty
exciting! It was an interesting experience though. I was really
nervous and was shaking quite a bit. Like an uncontrollable teeth
chatter. It was ridiculous. Sister black didn't notice, but later
thought it could have been a nervous/excited reaction. I realized that
could have happened because I haven't taught a real first lesson in a
while. I've always gone I to areas where people are already past the
first lesson and with Lorraine, it was just a simple lesson plan each
time. But, this was the first time I taught the restoration to two
people who didn't know anything about it. That was pretty crazy. It
was also different because that was the first time sister black and I
really taught together-- all of the other lessons have really just
been thoughts, not lessons. So that was pretty sweet! I felt like a
real missionary again!

Also, we did lots of service this week and we helped stack wood and
cut down trees! Well, we just watched them cut down trees, but it was
pretty neat. I think I'm becoming a much more outdoorsy person the
longer I'm in Maine. We also did some random stop bys with people this
week, and that was all led by the spirit. We weren't planning on
visiting them, but with following the spirit, we were where we were
supposed to be at the right time. It's amazing how the spirit works
that way. Each of the people we stopped by were showing strong signs
of interest, and were showing signs of wanting to change and come back
to church. It was amazing!! Sometimes it's hard to recognize the
spirit, but when you can recognize it and have the courage to follow
it, miracles happen!

I love you all!

Keep PUSHing!
Sister Pierce

Bath: "The City of Ships"

December 7, 2015

Happy Monday!! I hope you all are doing well! So this week was a little challenging, because our investigators, Stephen and Yulia decided to ignore us all week, after they stood up their ride to church last Sunday. We were trying to contact them multiple times, but they never could meet with us. So we eventually just did a stop by (I love how missionaries have the privilege of doing that. We always seem to come unannounced, and people don't mind! At least they don't mind that much...). When we saw Yulia, she was just explaining how she has been having problems with certain people, not Stephen, but someone else, and I had to resist the urge of just playfully saying, "is it us?" But, the spirit constrained me. Sister Black was glad the spirit did that. Haha I've noticed that I've become more of a blunt person since I've been on my mission. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing... Anyways, once we told her that we were going to have to stop seeing them for a while her whole countenance changed, and she was excited. That was pretty sad for me to see. We have the most amazing gift to give to people, and they just reject it! The gospel truly is a lifestyle, and I'm learning that more and more as I have been working with investigators and less active members. I am so grateful that I was raised in the church and that I have never fallen away. 

This week, we also started our Christmas initiative of #ASaviorIsBorn. If you haven't seen the video yet, check it out! It's literally just 2 minutes long, and it will brighten your day! https://www.mormon.org/christmas I just love christmas. It really is a special time of year. Everyone is in a giving mood and are generally more kinder. It makes missionary work a whole lot easier! A funny thing that happened a couple of weeks ago was when we knocked on this man's door (sister black and sister crook knocked on that door a few weeks before I got there, and sister black said we should try it again even though he wasn't interested). I knocked on the door, and he starts to walk down the hallway. He flipped on the porch light, I waved at him, he waved back, flipped off the porch light and turned around to walk back to his kitchen. How rude!! It was actually pretty funny, but we were kind of just in shock at the same time. Hahah at least he didn't open the door and slam it in our face. That was a plus side. 

Last night, we were able to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. That was so great! I love this time of year! It always makes the holiday so much more magical with all of the lights, music, and holiday cheer. And, it makes it better when you can hear words spoken from general authorities. Oh man, this truly is the true church and the men and women who lead it are so inspired and spiritually powerful! I love the power to the spirit and how he truly can touch every one of us if we just let him. 

This morning, sister black and I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch a military ship set sail for the first time! They have been working on this ship for the Navy for 8 years, and today started day one of a seven day sea trial. This ship is 614 feet long, but it has no right angles on it. So, on the radar, the ship shows up as a 44 foot long ship!! There were also 411 people on it today (one of those people is a member in our Ward) but, it normally would just have a crew of 147. That was so cool!! So, what did sister black and I do 2 weeks before Christmas? Well, we went to the beach...to watch a ship make its first maiden voyage! So cool!

Anyways, i hope you all have a great rest of your week! I love you all!

Keep PUSHing!

Sister Pierce 

 

The ship!

 Sister black and I with the ship in the background.

The ship sailing off to sea. When we left, you could still see it in the distance. It looked like a pyramid floating in the sea. It was ginormous!

Sister Pierce is in the "Black Bath"

November 23, 2015

Hello all!! Well, I'm back in Maine! I'm serving in the Topsham, Maine
area but living in Bath, ME. And my new companion is sister Black!
...she came up with my subject line. She's pretty great. She's from
Provo Utah and is just like me! We have so much in common, but she's
kinda a punk sometimes...does that make me a punk, since we're so
similar? Ha she's pretty great though!

This week we had a lesson with a new investigator who is 99 years old,
she asked us to read the Book of Mormon to her, and since I was
sitting closest to her, she asked me to read it. We started with the
title page and read to the testimony of the 3 witnesses. Oh my word.
The spirit was so strong!! Both sister Black and I felt it so
strongly, and we know Margaret must have felt it, but she said she was
not interested in being converted. We'll see if her thoughts change
when we read to her this week. It was amazing though. That experience
truly testified to me that the Book of Mormon is the word of God! Even
from the first page, the spirit comes so strongly. I also feel like
there was a stronger spirit because I was reading it outloud, and
loudly. It's amazing how the spirit can come so quickly when you're
speaking, and reading the truth. Being a missionary is the best!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgivng!!

Keep PUSHing!
Sister Pierce

Sister black and I (with our Christmas tree!)

 The elders in our ward. They're pretty fun! (Elders Skouby and Cashen)

Thanksgiving & Nine Months Complete!

November 30, 2015

Happy thanksgiving all!! I hope you had a great holiday! We went to a family's home who didn't have an oven...just a stove and an "easy-bake" oven. That made things interesting! They luckily were able to borrow a roaster from their neighbors for the turkey. It all turned out really well! As we were eating with them, I realized that every family has different traditions for holidays, and it made me grateful for my family and also how it truly is a time of year where we can gather as families and talk about what we are grateful for. There are so many things to be grateful for! This is also a great time for service! We were able to do some service this week at a soup kitchen, and we helped organize a member's food storage. That was so fun! It was in their basement, and the basement was truly handmade. It was carved out of a rock and there were little streams in the floor. Crazy. It actually felt like a prison a little, just a lot cooler. Well, I guess a lot cooler looking. I'm sure it would have been the same temperature. Haha 

This week, I hit my 9 month mark! Crazy! I can't believe that I'm in the downhill now. I don't even feel like I've done enough yet! Hopefully that changes with these last few months I have as a full time missionary! I truly hope I can make the most of my last half of my mission and that it doesn't go by too quickly! 

This week we also saw the hand of the lord so many times! Our investigators, unfortunately, aren't progressing that much, but we are still trying to keep our end of the commitment of finding a ride to church for them. We had the hardest time finding a ride to take them to and from church, but we finally found one to take them to church, but not back. They said they wouldn't go if they didn't know if they had a ride back home or not, so we busted our buns to try and find a ride to take them home. After making lots of calls, (at like 7:30 at night) we finally found one!! Unfortunately our investigators stood up the ride and didn't come to church, but at least we were able to strengthen our testimonies of the power of prayer, persistence, and diligence!

I hope you all have a fantastic week! Love you all!

Keep PUSHing!

Sister Pierce

Thanksgiving with the Derr's...yes, those are all Legos behind us....they're legit!

Here's a close up of one of them. So cool!